President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid discussed Türkiye-Israel ties in a phone call on Wednesday, shortly after the two countries announced the mutual reappointment of ambassadors, a statement by the Presidential Communications Directorate said.
The leaders welcomed the steps taken toward normalization of relations under the terms agreed upon during Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit in March.
For his part, Erdoğan told Lapid that Türkiye would take immediate steps to appoint a new ambassador to Israel.
He also noted that Türkiye supports the development of sustainable cooperation and dialogue with Israel through mutual respect.
“I just spoke with President @RTErdogan of Türkiye. We congratulated one another on the decision to fully renew our diplomatic ties,” Lapid wrote on Twitter and underlined that Israel and Türkiye are two key countries in the region.
“Bolstering our ties contributes to regional stability & brings tangible benefits for both nations.”
Israel and Türkiye announced the resumption of full diplomatic ties on Wednesday, following years of strained relations between the Mediterranean nations.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced that the two countries would reappoint ambassadors on Wednesday, marking a milestone in efforts to normalize ties.
Herzog, for his part, on Wednesday said: “I commend the renewal of full diplomatic relations with Türkiye – an important development that we've been leading for the past year, which will encourage greater economic relations, mutual tourism, and friendship between the Israeli and Turkish peoples.”
“Good neighborly relations and the spirit of partnership in the Middle East are important for us all," the Israeli president said on Twitter.
Lapid hailed the step as an "important asset for regional stability and very important economic news for the citizens" of the Jewish state.
The announcement follows months of bilateral efforts to mend ties, with reciprocal visits by top officials.
Çavuşoğlu in May became the first Turkish foreign minister to visit Israel in 15 years, during a trip that also saw him meet the Palestinian leadership in the occupied West Bank.
During a landmark visit by Israeli President Herzog to Ankara two months earlier, Erdoğan proclaimed their meeting marked "a turning point in our relations."
Bilateral relations began to fray in 2008, following an Israeli military operation in Gaza.
Relations then froze in 2010 after Israeli forces stormed a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians that broke an Israeli blockade. The incident resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists.
A brief reconciliation lasted from 2016 until 2018, when Türkiye withdrew its ambassador and expelled Israel's over the killing of Palestinians. More than 200 Gazans were shot dead by Israeli forces during border protests from 2018 to 2019.
Reconciliation publicly got underway after Herzog took office in July 2021.
The Israeli president on Wednesday said the full renewal of ties "will encourage greater economic relations, mutual tourism, and friendship between the Israeli and Turkish peoples."
Despite the diplomatic differences in recent years, trade continued and Türkiye remained a popular destination for Israeli tourists.
Israel, however, warned its citizens to return home in June, citing an Iranian assassination plot against its nationals in Istanbul.
Lapid then thanked Ankara for its cooperation on the issue and Israelis swiftly resumed their Turkish holidays.
Türkiye has meanwhile been keen to stress that its normalization with Israel could yield benefits for the Palestinians.
Turkish officials continue to criticize Israel’s policies targeting Palestinians, including the illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
"As we have always said, we will continue to defend the rights of Palestinians," Çavuşoğlu said.
In addition to its relations with the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, Türkiye has also maintained ties with the Hamas resistance group that rules Gaza.
Known for its unbreakable solidarity with the Palestinians, Türkiye has been voicing support for the Palestinian cause on the international stage for decades. Turkish authorities emphasize that the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the Middle East is through a fair and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue within the framework of international law and United Nations resolutions.
Israel has built more than 130 settlements across the West Bank that today are home to nearly 500,000 settlers, who have Israeli citizenship. Nearly 3 million Palestinians live in the territory under open-ended Israeli military rule. The Palestinian Authority (PA) exercises limited self-rule over parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters.
The Palestinians want the West Bank to form the main part of a future state, along with East Jerusalem and Gaza, all territories seized by Israel in the 1967 war. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally, and Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas took power there in 2007.
The Palestinians view the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem as a major obstacle to any future peace deal because they reduce and divide up the land on which such a state would be established.
